Training Bat to Develop Proper Hand Positioning

ABSTRACT

A baseball training bat is provided with a square handle and a paddle coupled to the square handle. A face of the paddle is aligned with a side of the square handle. The thumb is placed on the handle in conjunction with a wide side of the bat. This helps the hitter to get square to the ball by keeping his or her top hand in a palm up position. When the hitter swings the training bat, the top hand is palm up so the wide side of the bat can strike a ball. This forces the hitter to get the hands under the ball and take the proper path to the ball. The flat paddle gives the hitter instant feedback and lets the hitter know when they correctly hit the ball with a line drive. Other embodiments are provided.

FIELD

The present invention relates to sports training gear and, more particularly, to a baseball training bat.

BACKGROUND

Learning to play baseball is a challenging sport. Properly hitting a base ball with a bat requires good hand and eye coordination. Children and adults attempting to learn how to swing a baseball bat can have difficulty learning correct handling, posture, and swing motion. Without these, the child or adult may be discouraged from continued playing.

A need therefore exists for a baseball training bat that helps people learn proper handling technique for hitting a baseball.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the system, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The embodiments herein, can be understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary illustration of a baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a handle view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts another exemplary illustration of a baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 5 depicts a side view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a baseball training bat.

In one embodiment a training bat with a unique handle and paddle is provided to reinforce a method of rotational hitting. The unique handle aspect in conjunction with the paddle helps a hitter keep his or her hands in the zone or on plane when the training bat is correctly held. In one arrangement, the unique handle is square and aligned directly or angled with a flat surface area of the paddle to promote correct handling technique. The thumb is placed on the handle in conjunction with the wide side of the bat. This helps the hitter to get square to the ball by keeping his top hand in a palm up position. When a person swings the bat, the training bat keeps the top hand be palm up so a wide side of the bat can strike the ball. This forces the hitter to get the hands under the ball and take the proper path to the ball.

The training bat sufficiently prevents the hands from rolling over which would otherwise cause the hitter to miss the ball. A flat paddle gives the hitter instant feedback and lets the hitter knows when they hit a line drive. An alignment of the square handle with a flat hitting area on the paddle provides a positioning and form factor that defines being square to the ball. The bat can be made of wood, plastic, aluminum, or any other material to hit various types of balls. The square handle of the bat reinforces the position of the hands with the flat surface to hit the ball.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary illustration of a baseball training bat 100 in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated the training bat 100 can include a square handle 110, and a paddle 120 coupled to the square handle 110. A face 121 of the paddle 120 can be aligned with a side 111 of the square handle 110. The face 121 of the paddle 120 can be a flat portion that is aligned with the side 111 of the square handle 110. The face of the paddle is aligned on-plane with a side of the square handle to develop proper hand position at impact with a ball. The face of the paddle can be a flat portion that is aligned with a side of the square handle to reinforce a user's awareness of the proper hand position with respect to the hand orientation on the square handle at impact. The square handle can have rounded edges. The square handle 110 and the paddle 120 may be produced from the same material, a composite material, or may be interchangeable components.

The square handle 110 can receive a thumb that is placed on a back side 111 of the square handle 110 in conjunction with a wide side 121 of the paddle. The placing of the thumb on the back side 111 of the square handle 110 can cause the hitter using the training bat 100 to rotate his or her hands upward during a swinging of the bat 100 to make contact of a baseball with the wide side 121 of the bat. Upward is clockwise for a right-handed hitter, and counter-clockwise for a left-handed hitter.

In one embodiment, the training bat can be a square handle grip approximately 14 to 22 inches in length, and a striking surface projecting from the square handle grip that is approximately 3.5 inches in striking width and approximately 12 inches in striking length. A face of the striking surface is aligned planar to a side of the square handle grip to develop proper hand position at impact with a ball. The striking surface is a flat portion that is aligned with a side of the square handle grip to reinforce proper hand position with respect to a hand orientation on the square handle grip at impact with the ball.

FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated, the square handle 110 can have a same width as the paddle 120, and be aligned with the paddle. The thumb is placed on the back side 113 of the square handle 110 to cause the paddle 120 to remain relative vertical during the swing motion when hitting the ball. This handling causes the palm to be face up on proper contact of the front side 126 of the paddle 120 with the ball.

FIG. 3 depicts a handle view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated the square handle 110 is aligned with the paddle 120. The alignment angle of the handle 110 and the paddle 120 can be approximately 0 degrees to align a face 131 of the paddle 120 with a side 132 of the square handle 110. This permits the face of the paddle to be aligned on-plane with a side of the square handle for developing proper hand position.

FIG. 4 depicts another exemplary illustration of a baseball training bat 200 in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated, the handle 214 can be square to reinforce a position of the hands with a flat surface of the paddle 216 to hit a ball, although the handle can be slightly rounded to accommodate the hand. The handle 214 can be interchangeable with the paddle for accompanying varying lengths. For instance, the handle 214 can be between 6 inches to 20 inches in length. The paddle 216 can be between 12 inches and 32 inches in length.

The paddle 216 can have a large flat surface area to gives a hitter instant physical feedback when they hit the ball correctly, for example, with a line drive swing. In another configuration, the paddle 216 can be oval shaped 218 to resemble a baseball bat as the hitter becomes more familiar with the proper square handling of the training bat. The paddle 216 can also be a striking surface that projects from the handle 214, which can be a square handle grip. The striking surface can be flush with, or fan-out 217 from, the square handle grip.

A pommel counter-weight 210 can be secured to the square handle 214 to permit a hand to either rest on it or grip it. The training bat 200 can be comprised of an approximately ¾″×3½″ wood material, with an approximately ¾″ inch square handle with varied lengths to accommodate various age groups and an approximately 12″×3¾″ flat surface at the end of the bat to strike the ball, although other dimensions and materials are herein contemplated.

The training bat 200 can include a grip 212 wrapped around the square handle to minimize hand slippage. The alignment of the paddle 216 and square handle 214 can reinforce a rotational hitting aspect because it helps a hitter using the training bat 200 keep his or her hands in a zone or on a plane when the training bat 200 is correctly held.

The handle 214 can receive a thumb placed on a back side of the handle in conjunction with a wide side of the bat to help a hitter using the training bat 200 get square to the ball by keeping his or her top hand in a palm up position. The handle 214 can cause a top hand to be palm up so a wide side of the bat 200 strikes the ball when a hitter swings the training bat 200, and which forces the hitter to get his or her hands under the ball and take the proper swinging path to the ball. The handle 214 can sufficiently prevent the hands from rolling over and causing the hitter to miss the ball.

FIG. 5 depicts a side view of the baseball training bat in accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated, the training bat 200 can include the handle 214, and the paddle 216 coupled to the handle 210, wherein a face of the paddle is angled with a side of the square handle. The angle can be between 5 and 30 degrees to tilt a face 232 of the paddle with a side 231 of the square handle.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims described below. Accordingly, the reader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding of the breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the embodiments of the invention are not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present embodiments of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A training bat, comprising: a square handle; and a paddle coupled to the square handle, wherein a face of the paddle is aligned on-plane with a side of the square handle to develop proper hand position at impact with a ball.
 2. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the face of the paddle is a flat portion that is aligned with a side of the square handle to reinforce a user's awareness of the proper hand position with respect to the hand orientation on the square handle at impact.
 3. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the square handle has rounded edges.
 4. The training bat of claim 1, further comprising a grip wrapped around the square handle to minimize hand slippage.
 5. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the alignment of the paddle and square handle reinforces a rotational hitting aspect because it helps a hitter using the training bat keep his or her hands in a zone or on a plane when the bat is correctly held.
 6. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the square handle receives a thumb that is placed on a back side of the square handle in conjunction with a wide side of the paddle.
 7. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the placing of the thumb on a back side of the square handle causes the hitter using the training bat to rotate his or her hands upward during a swinging of the bat to make contact of a baseball with the wide side of the bat.
 8. The training bat of claim 7, wherein upward is clockwise for a right-handed hitter, and upward is counter-clockwise for a left-handed hitter.
 9. The training bat of claim 1, further comprising a pommel counter-weight secured to the square handle to permit a hand to either rest on it or grip it.
 10. The training bat of claim 1, wherein the training bat is comprised of an approximately ¾″×3½″ wood material, with an approximately ¾″ inch square handle with varied lengths to accommodate various age groups and an approximately 12″×3¾″ flat surface at the end of the bat to strike the ball.
 11. A training bat, comprising: a handle; and a paddle coupled to the handle, wherein a face of the paddle is angled with a side of the square handle.
 12. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the angle is approximately 0 degrees to align a face of the paddle on-plane with a side of the square handle to develop proper hand position at impact with a ball.
 13. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the angle is between 5 and 30 degrees to tilt a face of the paddle with a side of the square handle.
 14. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the handle is between 6 inches to 20 inches in length.
 15. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the paddle is between 12 inches and 32 inches in length.
 16. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the handle receives a thumb placed on a back side of the handle in conjunction with a wide side of the bat to help a hitter using the training bat get square to the ball by keeping his or her top hand in a palm up position.
 17. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the handle is interchangeable with the paddle for accompanying varying lengths.
 18. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the handle causes a top hand to be palm up so a wide side of the bat strikes the ball when a hitter swings the training bat, and which forces the hitter to get his or her hands under the ball and take the proper swinging path to the ball.
 19. The training bat of claim 11, wherein the paddle has a large flat surface area to gives a hitter instant physical feedback when they hit the ball correctly, and the handle sufficiently prevents the hands from rolling over during a swing of the training bat.
 20. A training bat, comprising: a square handle grip approximately 14 to 22 inches in length; and a striking surface projecting from the square handle grip that is approximately 3.5 inches in striking width and approximately 12 inches in striking length, wherein a face of the striking surface is aligned planar to a side of the square handle grip to develop proper hand position at impact with a ball, wherein the striking surface is a flat portion that is aligned with a side of the square handle grip to reinforce proper hand position with respect to a hand orientation on the square handle grip at impact with the ball. 